The reality of split government puts a premium on creativity within the administration. President Obama needs to put the right people in charge of the agencies and then have them push the bounds of administrative power to change policy through those agencies. President Obama has a pretty good track record of this.

It's been really fun to see with each album when I change to see the fans of the show emulate my style and with the first record a lot of the kids in the crowd were wearing neck ties like I was and now you'll see a lot of girls with pink hair. It's cool it's actually really neat.

Those youngsters go out there and set a record and clinch the pole position. But what do you do if you wreck your car. That record doesn't spend too well.

I don't think radio is selling records like they used to. They'd hawk the song and hawk the artist and you'd get so excited you'd stop your car and go into the nearest record store.

It used to be that you'd have a song recorded by a major country artist and if it was a hit you could buy a car. Now you can buy a dealership.

I was turning 20 during my first record. Those decade birthdays always kind of cause me it seems to reflect look back and then look forward. I just was closing this period of my life where I was living in a car and scrambling my whole life to then signing a six-record deal with Atlantic.

I recorded a song called I Fall to Pieces and I was in a car wreck. Now I'm worried because I have a brand-new record and it's called Crazy!

Whenever I have bid a hasty goodbye to a loved one I've always made sure that my record collection was safely stored away in the boot of the car.

I'm gonna be making records anyway even if I had to sell 'em out of the trunk of my car. I'm that kind of musician and singer.

I could play it safe by recording songs that are familiar but am I expanding myself as an artist by doing covers? It's a catch-22. It's called show business: The word 'business' is in it and you've got to be a businessman. But then again you have to be true to yourself as an artist.